Those Four Words
by AzaleaLura
Summary: After all those years, he finally asked.


**Fandom**: Kuroko no Basket  
**Rating**: T (just to be safe due to language?)  
**Pairing**: Aomine Daiki x Kise Ryouta [AoKise]; slight Kagami Taiga x Kuroko Tetsuya [KagaKuro]  
**Warning**: Boy/Boy. Possibly OOC. Cliché. EXTREME Fluff. Slight vulgar language. Grammatical and spelling mistakes. Un-beta'd. Mediocre. Rushed ending.  
**Word** **Count**: 2810 words  
**A/N**: I'M BACK! Sort of. I'm trying to get back into my writing groove but unfortunately it's a little hard to write (curse you, writer's block!). But I managed to whip this out in four hours ;u; Hopefully it's OK haha. I wanted it to be short but somehow I still managed to make it almost 3k OTL. Curse me and my long works LOL. **ALSO!** I have recently created a FB page where I can post my artworks, story links, prompts, inspiration/modelling photos, so please check it out (there's a direct link on my profile)! Lots of love :)  
**Disclaimer**: I do not own Kuroko no Basket. Clearly belongs to Fujimaki Tadatoshi.  
**Dedication**: To my lovely readers who always support me! Thank you for your love and I have a lot more AoKise works planned ahead so please check it out! Hopefully I'll have my multi-chapter fic out soon :D Reviews are greatly appreciated, love you all and please enjoy! :)

* * *

**Summary**: After all those years, he finally asked.

* * *

_"Daikicchi, do you love me?"_

_Kise already knew the answer; Aomine pampered him with love, yet for some reason, he wanted more__—__it was like he wanted reassurance of Aomine's love for him; like he wanted to ensure their love would last; that Aomine would not grow tired of him._

_There was a grunt, before a hand wrapped around Kise's slender fingers, massaging the soft skin before lips pressed against his fingertips. The gesture was loving, and the blonde knew his significant other wouldn't respond to that question directly, knowing that he should take this gesture as a sign of his love, but still, he wanted the answer to leave __**his**__ lips._

_He waited for a few more moments, before he said, "Daikicchi?"_

_The lips continued to pamper soft kisses, trailing from his fingertips to his knuckles before Aomine gazed into Kise's honey-brown eyes. He read his boyfriend's expression - a look of genuine confusion and doubt reflected in his brown orbs - and he let out an exasperated sigh, releasing Kise's fingers and leaned back on the bed rest._

_"I thought you knew the answer."_

_Kise's face faltered, as he forced a chuckle, turning away from Aomine so his back was facing his lover's, "I guess I do."_

_"...Ryouta?"_

_"Forget about it, Daiki. Good night."_

_Aomine stared in confusion, his eyes furrowing slightly as he noticed the harsh tone in Kise's voice, even noting the absence of the silly nickname his boyfriend typically addressed him in. He rubbed his eyes. Oh, he knew he had done something wrong. Kise only ever addressed him as Daiki when he was distressed or annoyed with him; clearly showing he was serious._

_Tomorrow, he would ask Kagami and Kuroko on their thoughts of the matter._

_Whatever that matter was..._

**- Those Four Words -**  
_AzaleaLura_

Kagami stared in disbelief before shaking his head, a chuckle escaping his lips as he could only imagine the numerous amounts of stupid, inconsiderate words Aomine had said to anger Kise. Now the blonde had a rather large tolerance with the ex-Ace, even enduring the male's profanity and arrogance, but there were just days when that couldn't be controlled.

Aomine's eyes narrowed at the two-toned red head, "What's so funny, Bakagami?"

Kagami ceased his laughter, pointing his finger at the dark blue-haired fellow in front of him but the man swatted his hand away from his face. "Ahomine, you seriously can't think of anything?"

"Ah? What are you talking about?"

"I think Kagami-kun is implying you have a lot of faults, Aomine-kun, so you must have said something insensitive yesterday to upset Kise-kun."

Both Kagami and Aomine jumped, just noticing the presence of the ex-sixth phantom of the Teikou basketball team, Kuroko Tetsuya. He blankly stared at them, but Kagami, being his boyfriend, had recognized the little hurt in his blue eyes. Of course Kuroko would be hurt from the sudden gesture; he had been with them the entire time but Kagami and Aomine had been chatting for so long, they forgot about Kuroko for a moment.

Kagami patted Kuroko's head, leaning closer so he could peck his partner's cheek. However, Kuroko pouted, attempting to push Kagami aside in which the taller, stronger male smirked and quickly planting a soft kiss on his lips, mumbling an apology only audible for Kuroko before retreating back to his seat.

A barely noticeable blush began to surface on Kuroko's cheeks, touched and embarrassed by Kagami's action, but clearly the other male was content with the whole ordeal, focusing his attention back on Aomine.

The ex-Touou Ace only stared in confusion as Kuroko quietly excused himself from the table to calm himself down, and asked, "What was _that_ about?"

"Didn't you see how disappointed Kuroko was when we forgot he was there?"

Kagami's only response was a head shake from Aomine. Suddenly, the smirk on Kagami's face faltered as he stared at the genuine look of shock in Aomine's eyes. It was as if the dark blue-haired male was utterly oblivious to the look on Kuroko's face, despite the amount of _pain_ and _hurt_ in his eyes. A sigh escaped out of Kagami's lips, as he pressed his palm on his forehead, massaging it gently before muttering, "And you wonder why Kise's annoyed."

Before Aomine could retaliate, Kagami stared at him. The sudden teasing manner in the male's eyes were no longer present. Instead, a look of seriousness and rather, a look of displeasure, replaced it. "Has it ever occurred to you that you're oblivious when it comes to others' feelings? Especially your own _boyfriend's_?"

Aomine wanted to comment on that, to argue with Kagami that he was lying; that he was aware of Kise's feelings, but then he recalled yesterday's events and suddenly, his heart plummeted to the floor. After all those years, had he not noticed Kise's feelings? Was he still the same Aomine back in high school, who only cared about himself?

_Was he that conceited?_

Kagami noticed the change in Aomine's attitude; noticed the stiffness in the other's shoulders. Even without speaking, he was certain he knew what was going through Aomine's mind; knew that the male was attempting to find ways to cheer up his boyfriend but couldn't find any solutions. "Let's try to think. What were you and Kise talking about before he gave you the whole silent treatment?"

Aomine tried to think back to yesterday's events, but nothing significant seemed to pop up. However, he thought back to _that_ conversation, and remembered how the tone in Kise's voice had shifted almost instantly after.

_**"Daikicchi, do you love me?"**_

_**"I thought you knew the answer."**_

_**"Forget about it, Daiki. Good night."**_

That was it. Kise wanted him to say he loved him, but... was that enough? By saying those three words, would Kise really forgive him? He knew Kise was a helpless romantic; that the male cried and squealed at anything that had any signs of love and devotion, but during their six years together, Aomine hadn't shown any of that to the blonde.

Maybe it was because the blonde never specifically asked that Aomine never bothered to do any of the romantic gestures most people would do, but then again, Kise wasn't the type to ever outwardly demand something. No, he was quite the sly one; always hinting it at Aomine but failed every time.

Aomine confessed this to Kagami, in which the latter widened his eyes before exhaling, rubbing his temples, "Man, Ahomine, you really screwed up this time. You're telling me after all these years, you never _once_ spoiled Kise? Never took him to fancy dinners or surprised him with gifts?"

"He never once complained!"

"Kise's not the type to whine, Ahomine!"

The abrupt words from Kagami caused Aomine to shrink in his seat, his shoulders falling as he knew he had screwed up badly. He hadn't exactly treated Kise like royalty during these six years, but he loved him; he really did.

Quietly, he muttered, "What can I do...?"

Kagami looked at him with sympathetic eyes, "I have no-" Suddenly, Kagami stopped talking, freezing at the circular jewellery hanging from the chain around his neck, and then a smile crept on his face, as he realized what Aomine could do to prove his love to the blonde.

"Actually, I take that back. I have an idea, but we're going to need your childhood friend to come along."

"Satsuki? But why-?"

"Don't ask." Kagami placed a few bills on the table before grabbing Aomine's wrist, "Let's grab Kuroko and go. We don't have much time. Text your friend and ask her to meet us Downtown."

Aomine stared at Kagami with disbelief, but obeying his orders. As he began texting Momoi, he asked, "Can you tell me what you're planning?"

A wide smirk was on Kagami's face as he said, "It's time for you to toughen up, Ahomine. You're going to ask Kise _that_ question."

And suddenly, Aomine understood exactly what Kagami was scheming in that idiotic brain of his.

* * *

"If you want to marry him, why don't you just ask him yourself?"

Kise hushed the male accompanying him for lunch, looking around to make sure people wouldn't hear. He didn't want any of their companions to hear the question. If word got out that Kise wanted to marry Aomine and somehow made it to the male's ears, who knows how he would react? After all, Aomine wasn't one to show any signs of commitment aside from the physical desires in a relationship.

Haizaki stared at Kise in scepticism before waving down a waiter to refill his coffee. Once the waiter left, he resumed talking, despite Kise's attempts to silence the matter. Really, who was going to overhear their conversation anyway?

"Ryouta, why don't you just ask him to marry you? You're not forced to play the part of the woman; you can do whatever you fucking want. You don't have to wait for Daiki to make the first move."

"Shougo." Kise started, the frustration in his voice as he gave up trying to quiet Haizaki down. "I've said this many times, Daikicchi doesn't like being _tied down_."

"And I keep telling you, you have been dating for six years. You're both tied to each other, for fuck's sake!"

Kise contemplated on Haizaki's words. Leave it to his childhood friend to make reality hit him hard in the chest. It had already been six years, and Aomine _still_ hadn't asked him for his hand in marriage. Perhaps Haizaki was right, but then again...

"What if I'm only there to fulfill his sexual desires?" Before Haizaki could interject with some valid argument, Kise continued; a rather solemn tone in his voice, "You know he never once said he loves me aloud."

For once, Haizaki was speechless. It wasn't until Kise's words sunk in that his blood began to boil with anger towards his childhood friend's boyfriend. Within the six years, he hadn't once said those three words? What was that bastard even doing?! He cursed under his breath. If Aomine was leading Kise on after all these years...

He was already imagining various ways to kill him.

But then he reminisced the old high school memories, when he was still cold and bore a deep hatred towards Kise due to unresolved childhood memories, and remembered how Aomine had punched him in the face. That punch wasn't just out of resentment, but meant to protect Kise. That punch not only knocked some sense into Haizaki, but he was certain it was because of Kise.

Suddenly, the fury in him died down, slowly forming into utter annoyance as he realized just how much of a coward Aomine really was and how ignorant Kise was of the other's feelings. Both were idiots; this was why their relationship was so perfect. He could only exhale slowly, before reaching for his cup and taking a long sip, practically drowning the black coffee down his throat. He hoped Aomine would toughen up soon and ask Kise to marry him already; the blonde wouldn't believe anyone - not even him, and really he trusted him the most out of everyone despite their conflict in high school - unless Aomine confessed just how much he loved the blonde.

"Shougo?"

Haizaki snapped out of his thoughts, gazing into Kise's brown eyes before shaking his head. Why bother wasting his breath trying to convince the blonde that his boyfriend truly loved him? Oh well, Aomine had to act soon if he wanted to reassure Kise about their relationship.

"What should I do?"

Make that really soon. Otherwise, he may have to pay the ex-Ace a visit for a small "talk".

* * *

Kise arrived back to the apartment a little later in the night. He had spent the afternoon with Haizaki, who grew rather irritable at the blonde's constantly insecurities. Eventually, the man, who reverted back to his old hairstyle of long, shaggy blonde hair rather than cornrows, dropped Kise off in front of his apartment_—_or more specifically, kicking him out of his car.

Before Kise could protest at the male's harsh actions, Haizaki left him with a few encouraging words.

_**"Oi, Ryouta, remember this: Daiki isn't the kind of guy who openly shows his feelings."**_

With that, he drove off, leaving a stunned Kise to repeat those words in his head as he mindlessly shuffled down the hall to the apartment he shared with Aomine.

When he opened the door, he was greeted with nothing but darkness, aside from the light that shone from the living room. Hesitantly, he hung his jacket and keys, approaching the room where he was greeted with a sleeping Aomine. The male looked exhausted, his eyebrows furrowed downwards as if he was stressed about something.

It wasn't until his eyes wandered down to Aomine's hands that he spotted the small box. Immediately, his eyes widened, but shrunk once he shook the thought out of his head. He knew not to expect much; that Aomine was not the one to spoil him with gifts. This must have been a present for someone else; perhaps Momoi's_—_it was her birthday soon, right? He probably wanted Kise to check if it would suit her.

His fingers brushed the tiny, smooth velvet box, but accidentally brushed against Aomine's, which caused the latter to stir in his sleep before snapping awake. This startled both males as they backed away from each other instantly; a blush beginning to creep onto Aomine's cheeks as he realized Kise was finally home.

"S- Sor-"

"You didn't open it, did you!?" Aomine shouted, panicked, when he glanced from Kise's shocked brown eyes to the box to Kise's eyes once again. Then he scrambled to hide the little box behind him, as if by hiding, Kise wouldn't remember the box.

Kise could hear Aomine release a sigh of relief when he shook his head to answer Aomine's question. He was taken aback by the male's sudden action; his heart racing as if he knew what was going to happen next but tried to calm down.

This wasn't happening. Whatever was inside the box, it wasn't _that_. Aomine wouldn't- Aomine _wasn't_ the type of guy to just-

Before Kise could finish his thoughts, the velvet box was shoved in front of his face, in which he jumped back a little, unexpected by the tiny box's rapid appearance once again. He grabbed it, engulfing it in his hands before staring at Aomine, uncertain of what to do next.

The blush on Aomine's cheeks darkened, as he motioned Kise to open it, unable to muster the words forming in his head. Really, if he could just say those four damn words_—_he had rehearsed it with Kagami earlier in the afternoon, but the words just wouldn't leave his lips!

It was then he heard a soft gasp escape Kise's lips, and he knew the blonde had revealed what was inside the box. Inside, there lay a thick silver band, something that oddly resembled an engagement ring, but that had to mean...

Kise gazed up at Aomine, his eyes extremely wide as he couldn't believe what was in his hands. This- The ring... He could feel the tears beginning to well up in his eyes but he couldn't stop them; couldn't even will his hands to brush them aside. He could see Aomine fluster at the sight of his tears, unsure of what to do and how to react, but then he heard the number of profanities leaving his lover's mouth. Things such as, _"Shit! This wasn't how it was supposed to go. Damn it, what am I supposed to do?!" _left his lips, and Kise couldn't help but stifle out a chuckle.

Upon hearing Kise's chuckle, Aomine stared in confusion, settling back in his seat on the couch as he reached forward and brushed away Kise's tears. There was silence for a moment; both embarrassed to say what was on their minds, but eventually, Aomine asked, "Am I forgiven?"

A smile formed on Kise's lips as he sniffed, leaning forward and wrapping his arms around Aomine's neck, indicating that, yes, he was.

Aomine chuckled, wrapping his arms around Kise's waist and said, "So, about the ring... I'm assuming it's a yes?"

Kise leaned back from Aomine's hold, staring into the other's dark blue eyes before his smile broadened, shaking his head. Aomine could only furrow his eyebrows in perplexity, and Kise said, "You never asked the question."

The male widened his eyes, the scarlet blush beginning to resurface on his cheeks but he leaned forward, close to Kise's ears where he hurriedly mumbled out those four simple words Kise had been longing to hear.

Kise smiled widely, viciously nodding his head as he kissed Aomine on the lips; the tears welling up in his eyes once again.

* * *

_"Will you marry me?"_


End file.
